The present invention relates to studying the state of living organisms.
Recognizing, characterizing and evaluating pain in animals, including humans, is a largely subjective activity due to the lack of generally accepted objective criteria for recognizing, characterizing and evaluating the altered state of an animal, such as a human or other animal, in pain. Likewise, in botany, it is often difficult to measure when an edible plant is still edible with firm tissues and is not wilted. It is therefore difficult to provide a non-living model of living systems, which can be quantitatively evaluated.
There are precedents in physiology for the concept of non-living models of living systems. Many examples can be found in the work of J. C. Bose who, at the beginning this century, drew the attention of physiologists to the similarity of certain electrical responses in metals and muscle tissue. Another well-known example of a non-living model is the xe2x80x9ciron wirexe2x80x9d model of nerve impulse conduction.
In investigating the bioelectric attributes of living systems with pairs of electrodes connected to some kind of amplifying and recording system it has been traditional to work operationally in two stages: an initial stage in which the electrodes are appropriately positioned in relation to the tissue to be studied, followed by a recording stage after bioelectric effects arising during the positioning of the electrodes have largely dissipated.
Any residual bioelectric effects are often referred to by using such terms as xe2x80x9cnoisexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cinterferencexe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9cnon-linearityxe2x80x9d, the key point being that these are traditionally unwelcome barriers to the desired ideal steady state condition. (Faupel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,821).
The essence of the present invention, in contrast, is to focus on, and follow the time course of, the bioelectric disturbance that arises consequent to the second electrode being brought into proximity, or, more usually, contact with the relevant tissue site.
Various types of electrodes have previously been used to measure bioelectric attributes of the human organism in the form of voltage potentials or electric currents.
Some of these have employed an electric current introduced into the electrodes, such as with a galvanic skin response and others which can only measure the organism""s interaction with the introduced current and not the current produced directly by the organism. Hirschowitz, (U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,809) first filters out as noise the kind of rapidly changing signals, which are at the heart of the present invention, and then uses a single value, which is arrived at by averaging the 180 readings, to represent the measurement.
Other methods have been passive but have limited themselves to measuring the strength of the external electrostatic field (Hoogendoorn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,639) or to producing a simple numerical value of the voltage potential (Faupel, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,995,383 and 5,099,844; Conway, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,557,273 and 4,321,360), differences between minimum and maximum voltages (Faupel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,821; Stoller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,271), differences between voltages at two different points or measurements of simple electric current (Alexeev, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,011).
Many are designed to look at only specific body functions such as the brain (Zhang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,554; Kiyuna, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,653), the gastrointestinal system (Zhang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,554) or ovulation (Stoller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,273; Conway, U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,360).
Still others have used extremely expensive Superconducting Quantum Interference devices or xe2x80x9cSQUIDSxe2x80x9d (Takeda, U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,526; Abraham-Fuchs, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,211) which are extremely expensive and do not detect the types of pulses described in the inexpensive and easy-to-use system of the present invention.
Some have detected waves such as electrocardiograph (EKG) waves, electroencephalograph (EEG) waves or square waves, but not the unique pulses described herein.
The aforementioned methods of analyzing data from other electrode systems have largely concentrated on eliminating irregular, non-periodic fluctuations that comprise the essential data of the present system, considering irregular fluctuations as noise to be averaged out, smoothed out, or filtered out (Hirschowitz, U.S. Pat. No.4,328,809; Faupel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,821).
Japanese researchers (Seto et al, xe2x80x9cDetection of extraordinary large biomagnetic field strength from human hand during external QI emission,xe2x80x9d International Journal of Acupuncture and Electro-Therapeutics Research, V. 17 pp. 75-94 (1992)) used an 80,000 turn solenoid experimental probe coil sensitive to electromagnetic fluctuations to measure pulses emanating from the hands of Qi Gong masters. They calculated the amount of electrical energy needed to produce pulses of that size and showed that it exceeds the carrying capacity of the nerves of the arm, thereby excluding nerve signals as the sole source.
Numerous problems with artifacts limit the usefulness of such coils, as the Applicant""s research showed in connection with the present invention. For example the palm must be held over the coil at a fixed interval. Any vertical fluctuation of the hand produces extraneous signals, which confuse the readings. Furthermore, many people have trouble holding their hands perfectly still for 30 seconds or more. In addition, the device is far less sensitive than the electrode system of the present invention. While Qi Gong masters produce strong, regular pulses, normal people produce only occasional tiny pulses, making the disturbing effects of movement-generated extraneous signals all the more serious. In addition, the relative lack of sensitivity means that there is far less information, which can be extracted from the signals.
In contrast, as more fully explained later herein, the physical contact with the palms and other areas of the body being measured by the system of the present invention gives much more reliable and informative readings to detect and record changes in bioelectric pulses indicative of the state of health of a human, other animal or plant.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device and method for detecting and recording specific types of bioelectric pulses, these being an aspect of the biofield of both human, other animal and plant subjects. The term xe2x80x9cbiofieldxe2x80x9d is defined in xe2x80x9cSections on Biofield Diagnostics and Therapeuticsxe2x80x9d, Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Systems and Practices in the United States, prepared under the auspices of the Workshop on Alternative Medicine, Chantilly, Virginia, Sep. 14-16, 1992, Part I: Field of Practice, Manual Healing Methods, pages 134-146.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for detecting changes in biofield energy levels in both animal and plant subjects. This latter has important applications in assessing the nutritional value of plant foodstuffs, both in general and in particular. This is illustrated by studies of the energy differences between fresh and wilted carrots, and the energy changes accompanying a banana ripening.
It is further an object of the present invention to enable investigators to collaboratively create libraries of CDP trace recordings, analogous to the fingerprint libraries in current use. This allows the creation of specific databases for various living tissue conditions.
For example, in a study of human subject persons with traumatic spinal injuries, in connection with the present invention, Applicants-noticed that in certain subjects the dissipative transient bioelectric disturbance recordings contained pulses occurring at a regular rate of from 1.4 to 1.7 Hz, such as, for example, 1.6 Hz. Applicant""s studies revealed that all twelve (12) of the subjects who have been shown to exhibit this 1.4-1.7 Hz pulse rate had suffered some form of traumatic spinal injury at some time in the past, sometimes decades before the recording and beyond the memory of the subject. This regular pattern was not been seen in any of the fifty (50), or so, other human subjects investigated. The present invention thus provides a noninvasive, low-cost, investigatory tool for routine use in the management of trauma in general and traumatic spinal injury in particular.
It is further an object of the present invention to offer practitioners of certain therapies a means of monitoring progress in their patients and hence of assessing their own effectiveness. For example, xe2x80x9chands onxe2x80x9d manipulative therapies aimed at improving the energy level of the patient are obvious candidates. Applicant""s found that in a subject treated with a form of hands on healing, numerous Charge Density Pulse trace recordings taken before and after therapeutic sessions showed a general increase in energy level (as quantified by the (Pa) measured peak amplitude pulse level) following such treatment. In a subject who had been diagnosed as suffering from fibromyalgia, CDP trace recordings taken during and after episodes of severe pain and discomfort showed marked differences of waveform morphology. In a subject with a history of severe spinal trauma, CDP trace recordings taken before and after a series of chiropractic therapy sessions showed consistent increases in energy level following treatment.
Applicants found that CDP trace recordings taken before and after the ingestion of Gingko Biloba and Ginseng have, in both cases, demonstrated raised energy levels about 30 minutes after ingestion (approximately the time it takes the body to absorb the active ingredients after swallowing a capsule). These raised levels persisted for several hours. In this case, energy level was calculated by multiplying the number of individual pulses by the amplitude of the maximum pulse level following the Pa.
Applicants further found CDP trace recordings taken before and after Zazen meditation have demonstrated raised energy levels persisting for several hours.
These results demonstrate the possibility of using CDP trace recordings to provide objective documentation of the effectiveness of a variety of therapeutic approaches for which, currently, little or no readily obtainable objective evidence of effectiveness exists. This should be attractive to both insurer and insured alike.
It is clear from the Applicant""s studies noted above that the Charge Density Pulse (CDP) technique allows a dissipative transient bioelectric disturbance to be recorded between any two points on the surface of the human body. Moreover, a special subset of such pairs of points, which may be expected to be of considerable importance in future studies, is when either, or both, points of the pair are recognized acupuncture points.
In keeping with these objects and others which may become apparent, the Charge Density Pulse (CDP) method discussed here provides a simple means for monitoring changes in the bioelectric field associated with living organisms, including humans and plants as discussed by the Applicants herein in Levengood, W. C. and Gedye, J. L. xe2x80x9cEvidence for Charge Density Pulses Associated with Bioelectric Fields in Living organismsxe2x80x9d, Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, V.8, No.1, pp. 33-54 (1999). The monitoring means of the present invention can be used to measure either the field of the individual organism as a whole or specific sites on the organism. For example, utilizing an electrical capacitance type monitoring system in which the bioelectric field interacts with metal collector plates, it is possible to examine details of what one defines as Charge Density Pulse (CDP) pulses generated between the electrodes and the palms of the hands or, for that matter, plants.
The polarized nature of the bioelectric fields, their specific influence on the metal electrodes interposed in the system indicate CDP interactions between metals and living tissue.
This purely passive system of the present invention uses no active input current. The biofield measured by the present invention is a continuous biofield common to the organism as a whole. Its polarity (as shown in left-right differences described herein) also distinguishes it from signals from other electrode systems.
For these reasons, the physical contact with the palms and other areas of the body provided for in the present system gives much more reliable and informative readings. As is described more fully later, there is a limit to the rate at which successive Charge Density Pulse (CDP) responses can be elicited at one site without affecting the characteristics of the response. In the case of human inter-palmar recording the refractory period is over 5 minutes duration.
There is a significant distinction between contact and non-contact electrodes. Whenever a conductive metal (or one of several other types of crystalline material) electrode is brought near to, or actually touches, the living tissue being studied, there is a contact potential-surface interaction between the electric field of the electrode and the bioelectric field of the tissue. When two such electrodes are brought near to, or actually touch, different parts of one piece of living tissue, and these electrodes are connected through a 1.0 K ohm resistor, as described in the present invention herein, the dissipative transient bioelectric disturbance described above results and can be recorded.
This is the essence of the Charge Density Pulse (CDP) device of the present invention. It does not require actual contact between the electrodes and the tissue being studied, only proximity of the electrode to the tissue; although in most currently foreseeable practical applications actual electrode-tissue contact is desirable, as it leads to more consistent results by allowing better control of the essential parameters of the electrode-tissue interfacial reaction.
With respect to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein CDP response traces are generated from a human subject by placing the palms of the hands on conductive plates having leads to a data recorder, when modified by the inclusion of a microswitch, M1, in one of the leads connecting the aluminum plates to the 1.0 K ohm resistor, and a microswitch, M2, in one of the leads connecting the 1.0 K ohm resistor to the recording device, there are four possible configurations of microswitch states, as noted in Table 1.
Table 1 shows that configuration 1 is the standard situation described above. Configuration 3 allows recording of a flat reference baseline. A change from Configuration 3 to Configuration 1 allows the start of the transient dissipative phenomenon to be precisely controlled.
The Applicants determined that the CDP pulses record genuine output of living systems, by ruling out artifacts as sources. Recordings taken continuously with Configuration 1 (TABLE 1), and no subject, for over 12 hours produced a flat trace with no pulses. Surface zeta potentials were ruled out as the source because a direct short across either the inside or outside surfaces of the large electrode plates produced at contact a single, very low amplitude ( less than 0.5 micro-amp) pulse of about 0.25 sec. duration, with no dissipative pulses. Inductive effects from the organism were ruled out by trying hand contact with only the opposite sides of the resistor, producing at contact a single very low amplitude ( less than 0.5 micro-amp) pulse with no dissipative effect or current flow seen. clothing placed across the electrodes produced no effect, ruling out electrostatic effects from clothing.
When a dielectric (20-micrometer thick polyethylene film) was placed between the hands and the outer surface of the electrodes, a flat line trace with no pulses resulted, as it did when the one or both hands were encased in latex surgical gloves.
Reduction in the area of hand contact with the electrode plate reduces the Pa roughly proportionally. Covering the inside surface of the electrode plates (the side opposite the hand) with polyethylene film had no effect on the Pa value, indicating that the CDP pulses are organized and distributed within the metal matrix of the charge collector plates. Minor variations in hand contact pressure on the electrode plates or muscle twitches in the fingers, if detected at all, were observed as very minor spikes ( less than 0.06 microamps) in the dissipative curve.
Finally, from a record of over 5,000 trace recordings, no trace made on a living organism has ever recorded the absence of CDP pulses.
All of these observations point to the conclusion that these CDP pulses constitute a ubiquitous energy pattern common to living organisms. The fact that plants also produce these signals suggestsxe2x80x94the existence of non-living models notwithstanding,xe2x80x94that the device is measuring a ubiquitous biofield.